


Deeper than Rumors

by BlueMorpho (caacrinolaas)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anxiety Disorder, Autistic Keith (Voltron), Family Loss, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Galaxy Garrison, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Friendship, POV Pidge | Katie Holt, Pre-Kerberos Mission, pidge is called katie until later in the story
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-10-05 03:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17317598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caacrinolaas/pseuds/BlueMorpho
Summary: Katie wonders if an alternate reality exists where she hadn't met Keith before the fated Kerberos mission. That reality, she thinks, must be a horrible one, full of lonely grieving.Aka, my take on the AU where Keith and Pidge met pre-Kerberos, from first meeting to Voltron. Now with chapter art!





	1. A Series of Unfortunate Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge regrets her fashion choices, and an introduction is attempted.

Katie Holt is not a girl of very many regrets, but at the moment, she would be the first and most willing to admit that pulling her hair up in a side ponytail and wearing a sun dress was a very, very bad idea. The flopping of her sandals only mocked her as she trailed after her older brother in the freezing metal halls of the Galaxy Garrison, her dress fanning the cold air onto her legs. 

Though she held the willingness to speak of her most recent mistake, she kept quiet, knowing the other Holt would never let her live it down if the dress-clad girl even said one word of complaint. 

Despite this, she trudged on, motivated by the knowledge that this may be one of the most important introductions of her life. 

Today, Matt was bringing her to meet Takashi Shirogane and his (alleged) surrogate brother, Keith. 

She was nervous, though she was much less willing to admit that part of her current plight. Unlike Matt, who had already earned a somewhat celebrity status through being a part of the upcoming Kerberos mission, she still had the tendency to be star-struck at times. Especially in the face of two famed names she constantly heard in her classes, students and teachers alike. 

Any person who has walked even two feet within the Galaxy Garrison's premises would know the name Takashi Shirogane. Even outside of the Garrison, Shirogane was practically a worldwide celebrity at this point, as he had been chosen to pilot the widely-known Kerberos mission. 

The man was absolutely everywhere. She could probably draw his face by memory from how many posters and advertisements and television interviews she's seen his face on. He was always polite and charming at the face of the camera, never saying no to a interview and answering the repetitive questions with the same enthusiasm. 

Deep down, Katie also looked up to him because he is publicly and willingly out; Shirogane is willing to face any repercussion against who he is, and she hopes to have that confidence one day. 

As for the other...

Within the Garrison's premises, Keith had also made a name of his own, though most definitely not as flashy as the other's. At first, she didn't realize that the Keith she was meeting was the same she had heard nearly every day, though the way Matt described the Keith she would be meeting today made it click. 

She was going to meet... that... Keith. 

Top of the class. Antisocial. Best pilot in the program. Discipline case. Impeccable grades. Only in the Garrison out of a pity scholarship and respect for his relations to Shirogane... 

Rumors surrounded him so densely that it was hard to discern what was real and what was... well, what was bullshit. As a new student, Katie still didn't even know what he looked like, and yet she knew more about him than the friends she has made at the Garrison. 

In his case, she also knew deep down most of the negative things she had heard likely wasn't true. Jealousy is a disease and she was sure most of the rumors were a symptom of it. Who wouldn't be jealous of a random kid who earned a free ride through the Galaxy Garrison? 

Katie snapped out of her thoughts as the two of them entered a larger room- most likely a lounge area for designed for studying- that was empty except for one. At the other end was a man in a Garrison instructor uniform, leaning against one of the metal columns- she shivered just at the sight- and was typing away on his tablet. 

Looking over at her older brother's face, Katie could could immediately sense that Matt was about to do something either stupid or obnoxious. Or both. The youngest Holt braced herself for the inevitable. 

"Hello, Shiro!" Matt arms flew up as he shouted across the large room in an exaggerated accent, "fancy meeting you here, my good sir, most handsome fellow, commanding officer in looks." 

Then he bowed.

Classy.

As Shirogane turned to face them, Katie was hit with how much younger he looked in person, even at this distance. She had seen his face everywhere, and yet, seeing him outside of the interviews and posters made her remember that he was truly only in his early twenties. 

The grin he beamed at their direction was more genuine than any she had ever seen him wear. 

"Why hello there, Matt! You look quite... quite dapper today, young lad," Shirogane replied in an equally obnoxious accent, "And who might this young lady be that's accompanying you?" 

Matt moved his little sister in front of him, pushing her forward towards the famous pilot. The decreasing space between them only made Shirogane's true age more clear. 

"This is my genius, child prodigy little sister, Katie." She groaned at the flowery introduction as Matt continued to push her until they were both standing in front of his friend. "Katie, this is the most infamous physics teacher known to the Galaxy Garrison and most famed celebrity pilot, Takashi Shirogane!" 

"You can call me Shiro. Actually," Shirogane sighed and his voice became tired, "Please. Please just call me Shiro." 

"She's a freshman at the Garrison, but you already knew that," Matt continued. 

"Oh trust me, Matt, I know. I know." Shiro chuckled. "Half of the things Matt talks about revolved around you, if you didn't know. I swear I know more about you than I know myself." 

Katie didn't exactly know how to respond to that, only helped by the raging anxiety of talking directly to a celebrity. So she resorted to what she did best, and turned back to Matt. 

"Creepy."

"Blame your brother, not me!" Shiro sputtered. "

"Y-you think I'm not?" She internally winced at the stuttering but pushed forward. "Matt is- Matt is the creepiest."

"H-hey man! And girl," Matt raised up his hands in defense, "I'm- I'm here to make formal family introductions! Not get exposed and dragged up and down the concrete! What's wrong with being proud of my sister?" 

All he received in response was a hearty laugh and a stuck out tongue. 

"Ahem. Anyways," Matt rubbed his face and looked over his sister's head towards Shiro, "where's your miniature gremlin shadow? He's here, right?" 

"Miniature? Matt, he's almost six feet tall." 

"Height is a social construct! Answer the question. I want to meet this guy. I mean, like, I already know his life story but, you know, faces to names is important, you get me? Well, I know what he looks like. You know what I mean." Matt rambled as he took off and cleaned his glasses of fingerprints, a consequence to rubbing his face in embarrassment. 

"Do you guys have a two man black market trade about your siblings' personal life or something?" Katie finally jumped in to the conversation. 

"Oh wow, you've finally spoken more than one word without stuttering!" Matt teased. 

Before she could rebuke, the door next to where Shiro was formerly standing slid open. An older teenaged boy wearing the Garrison's student uniform and was holding three bags of hot Cheetos from the vending machine walked in and looked around. 

"There he is. Over here, bud." Shiro waved him over. Once he reached them, Katie suppressed a laugh as the younger boy handed over all three bags to the instructor, who accepted them with a gleeful grin. He then turned back to the Holts and placed a hand on the student's shoulder. 

"This is Keith, he's a senior at the Garri-" 

"Wait, what? He's a senior? Isn't he like, 5 years old? No wait, sorry," Matt laughed, "that's you." 

"Hey-" 

"Wow." Keith rolled his eyes, already checking out of the (failed) introduction. 

Matt and Shiro quickly fell into a friendly banter, entirely forgetting that they were there to introduce their family members. Katie and Keith were left on the outskirts. 

As they bickered, Katie scooted over to the significantly taller boy and turned to look up at him. For a split second, he made eye contact with her, though his eyes quickly flickered away. 

So this was Keith. He really was almost six feet tall, practically towering over her, though he was still shorter than the other boys in the room. While he looked to be Japanese, like Shiro, it was clear that the only way they were related was by law. He had an odd sheen to his eyes, almost as if the whites were tinted. His hair was longer and definitely broke the Garrison student pilot's dress code. 

Keith's arms were crossed tight against his chest and he had a deep scowl on his face, as if anywhere would be better than here. She could see why people believed that he slept with a knife under his pillow. 

That didn't stop her from wanted to get to know him, she knew what it was like to be at the center of demeaning rumors and they never reflected on who she really was. 

Besides, if she could handle Lance, she could handle a scowling teenage boy. 

"Y'know, they really are the masters of talking about people like they're not there." Katie joked as they watched the older two launch into a complicated conversation about the Kerberos mission. 

Keith responded with a noncommittal grunt. 

The pause in conversation was way more awkward than it should've been. She knew him for less than a minute and he was already living up to the rumors, and oh no, her hands were sweating. Of course. Why did she have to be cursed with being sweaty even when standing in a refrigerator of a building. 

Despite this, Katie was undeterred, and stuck out her left hand. Immediate regret washed over her as she realized that she forgot to wipe off her still sweaty hands. 

"I'm Katie, by the way. Katie Holt." Katie smiled up at him, despite the boy's scowl being turned in her direction. His gaze flickered from her hand to her face, and hesitantly shook her hand. 

Oh thank the lord. He's wearing gloves. Crisis averted. 

"Keith... Kogane." His face softened as he let go of her hand, though he still refused to meet her eyes. 

He then turned back to the (rather boring) conversation in front of them as Shiro opened up the second bag of Cheetos. Dammit, this was supposed to turn into small chatter and blossom into a deep, meaningful friendship within three minutes of conversation like she always sees happen in the slice of life anime Matt watches. 

She needed a conversation starter, stat. Too bad that her only friends was Matt, her computer, and people who forcefully plant her in their friend group for reasons beyond her (See: Lance). Conversation starters aren't in public education and aren't necessarily needed when coding, so needless to say, they aren't exactly her forte. 

Something she does have, though, is a lack of social filter. People have said that it's her charm. 

"So... uh... what's your opinion on peanut-based products?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro hates being famous :( rip
> 
> I've been in a double art and writing block for months but suddenly my brain gave me this question: how much different would Pidge and Keith's lives be if they happened to meet before Kerberos? Personally, my immediate answer was "well it'd probably be a hell of a lot better for both" 
> 
> I'm not sure how long this will end up being, but I wanted to explore this concept myself! I already have a few chapters mostly written but once again, no clue how long this'll be


	2. Cashew Propaganda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge eats cashews and questions life.

A day after the somewhat sloppy introduction between the two Holts and the two that looked like an anime protagonist with a sidekick, Katie found herself somehow eating nearly an entire family size can of cashews on the floor next to her brother's bed, who was furiously typing away on his keyboard. She knew that eating while lying down was one of the most well-known choking hazards but it was a price she was willing to pay for her cashews. 

It was also pretty uncomfortable but whatever. Cashews. 

The girl currently laying her head on a dust bunny could ponder many things in this position, given it was a mildly surreal one do be in, but she opted to do a mental review of yesterday's events. She can question her existence later. 

Keith was, surprisingly, willing to respond to her outlandish question. He's allergic to peanuts. Question solved. He also claimed that most vegetables hurts his stomach and she was reminded of stories Matt told her of the excuses she made to not eat salad when her age still resided in the single digits. 

Though the conversation didn't stop there, eventually they both got into a flow. Apparently, he was very much like her in her 'I refuse to talk unless I'm talked to', and she was glad she was willing to break the ice. 

So, just as she thought, he was not a knife-wielding inhuman murderer like her classmates wanted her to believe. If anything, the only thing she left the conversation worried about was the thought that he has never had the opportunity of being able to taste the sacred glory of peanut butter cookies. 

She wished she had gotten his phone number. Even if they never talked, it would be one more person in her contacts besides her mom, dad, Matt, great uncle, and Bae Bae. 

That's besides the point, though. All in all, he was an okay person. However, a nagging thought persisted. 

If he was constantly such a terrible person like her Garrison classmates painted him as, why and how did he become so close to the golden pilot Shiro? Matt trusted him, too, enough to have his beloved little sister meet him. Was anything that she has heard even close to being true in the first place? 

Well, the person currently sitting to the left of her did happen to claim he knew Keith's life story. Might as well get some answers. 

"Hey Matt?" 

"Mm?" 

"Is it true Keith has gotten into tons of fights?" 

The rapid typing of the computer came to a immediate stop. Her brother didn't look up from his computer though it was clear he was thinking of how to answer. 

"Oh yea, he's- yea, he has definitely gotten into fights. I wouldn't say... tons," Matt reached up and adjusted his glasses, "but he definitely had a reputation at his middle school." 

"What about the Garrison?" 

"Hm... honestly, the last time he socked another kid while at the Garrison was freshman year. When he was an itty bitty baby just like you-" Katie protested this through a mouthful of cashews- "and honestly the kid kinda deserved it so that doesn't count." 

The younger Holt nodded, and a short silence followed. Likely because he couldn't see her nod from where he was sitting. However, the pause was quickly broken as her brother's face darkened. 

"But," Matt frowned and turned to face her, glasses shining from the horrifically bright computer screen, "he's done more than fights. I know lots of rumors surround him and some aren't undeserved." 

Well, that was off-putting. 

"What, is he- is he a serial killer? Did you take me to meet a serial killer?" 

"Nonono no! No. Listen." Matt seemed to realize how he probably sounded to the other person in the room. "You can't tell Keith or Shiro I told you this. But." 

Matt leaned over the bed to peer directly down at his sister, flimsy glasses miraculously not falling off his face. 

"When Shiro first met Keith, the kid stole his car and led the police on a 30 minute chase in the town." 

That was the moment she truly understood why eating while lying down was a choking hazard, the attempts at laughs escaping her throat sounding more akin to an excitedly snorting and wheezing bulldog. 

"Wh- wait what?! What? How old was he?" She managed to rasp out after recovering from what felt like a near-death-by-cashews experience. 

"He was twelve, I think." Matt, of course, was grinning, showing no remorse on having his younger sister almost die in front of him from the perfectly timed sentence. 

"Holy shit. Honestly though, that shouldn't a crime because of just how funny that is. A twelve year old in a police chase is something you only see- only see in comedy sitcoms." 

"That's what I thought too!" Her brother sat up and leaned back onto his bed, "and Shiro too, apparently, because he got him out of juvie and invited him to the Garrison 'cause he did good on the simulator or something." 

"Legendary." 

"I know, right? Gimme some cashews." Matt made a grabbing gesture down towards his sister. 

Katie handed over the empty can, who in turn had it bounce off her head after receiving a mortified look of betrayal. 

He then turned back to his computer and began typing once again. Guess that was the end of that subject. 

Matt hardly looked up from his computer anymore, neither did their dad. In his defense, she almost never did either, but it was to the point that he would go days without looking up. 

At first, she told herself to not be selfish. This was her brother's biggest dream and he was finally going to achieve one of his biggest lifelong goals of going on a mission talked about for decades. 

But she relented, and allowed herself to feel things. So Katie was sad she had less time to talk to her best friend. Sue her. 

Sighing, she sat up and hooked her chin over the edge of the bed, arms dangling on the floor. 

"Are you working on something Kerberos related?" She asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Oh, you know it. I swear my life revolves around Kerberos now, and I'm sure Shiro and Dad's is too. There's so much more technical work involved than I ever could've imagined." 

"Do you regret applying?" She already knew the answer to this one as well. 

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever regret this, no matter if it's teeming with life or completely barren." Matt smiled as began to scroll through what looked like a long list of various folders. "It may be stressful now, and it'll be stressful during the trip too, but I know fighting to let the Garrison have me go is one of the best decisions I've ever made." 

"I'm happy for you, you giant nerd." 

The girl's eyes wandered out the window. The apartment they were temporarily staying at had a nice view, looking over the interstate and the forest surrounding it. The air was nearly still and the sky was clear. It was peaceful. She wasn't a superstitious or sentimental person, but she smiled, wondering if this was a good sign for her brother and father's upcoming adventure. 

Of course, her short and somewhat theatrical tranquility came to an abrupt end. 

"You have a dust bunny in your hair, by the way." 

Goddammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sprinkling in subtle Galra Keith headcanons is fun


	3. Feels Like 33°F

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge bumps into a familiar face and immediately fails at social interaction.

The Galaxy Garrison's lunch cafeteria has definitely never been a favorite of most students attending, mostly due to the fact that it felt approximately twenty degrees colder than the rest of the already freezing building. The idea that having uniforms which cover your entire body would keep you warm is pure administrative propaganda. These orange atrocities to fashion were thinner than Iverson's patience for Hunk's explosive digestive system. 

The food was decent, though, so most students won't complain. Katie personally had also found a spot along the wall that was directly under the heating vent, so that was great, too. 

One thing she did not and has not ever liked about lunch, though, is the people. Throughout her school years, most especially in middle school, she has always sat alone. While she did have friends growing up, none of them had ever wanted or bothered to invite her over to where they sat. In the end, she usually ended up at the end of a table that would quickly begin to bully her by stealing her food and verbally berating her. 

Therefore, she hated lunch just as much as any other Garrison student. If for different reasons. 

Thankfully, despite the extreme strictness the Garrison has, the guidelines surrounding where you have to sit at lunch is practically nonexistent. The emotional whiplash between Iverson's harsh eye and seeing people drag beanbags into the cafeteria was something she still hadn't adjusted to. Also unlike her former schools, the tables were rectangular and sat six people, though that guideline was broken so constantly that she has never actually seen six chairs at a table. 

So, given the opportunity, Katie decided to avoid the stress of potentially terrible tablemates and opted to sit on the floor against the wall. In her defense to dirtying her uniform on the boot-smudged metal flooring, there was a power outlet. And a heating vent. 

(Had her schedule landed a little differently, she suspects, Lance would have likely dragged her over to his table with his dorm roommate. She still doesn't understand the annoying eleventh grader's obsession with insisting on being her best pal. He's pretty strange in that respect, but at least he's a generally nice person.) 

However, today was not a typical lunch day. It was a Monday, and Mondays are notoriously the day when students and their friends decide to do something out of the norm and think that doesn't impact people who already have their own traditions and unassigned assigned seats. 

So when Katie sat next to her trusty power outlet next to her trusty heating vent, she quickly had bile rise in her throat as a very loud group of tenth graders sat down approximately eight feet to her left. They were loud. Two had hair dye which was definitely illegal on Garrison premises. Three looked like they had just walked out of anime club. One had those elf ear headphones. Elf ear headphone girl had a voice that sounded like the verbal embodiment of a cheese grater, taking slivers out of Katie's eardrums. 

Long story short, they looked and sounded like people Matt would be friends with. 

If a group of people is so loud that Katherine Holt was willing to give up her power outlet and heating vent, then there is a definite and real issue here. As she pulls her cords out of the wall, she vaguely wonders if the Garrison should implement the noise-detecting stoplights she had in her elementary school that would sound an alarm if it got to loud. If it was placed next to those students the device would probably break. 

As she got up and sadly left her warm area of the cafeteria, it occurred to her that she had nowhere to go. She never left her trusty wall unassigned assigned seat. Looking up at the time, she knew she only had one option. 

Walk around the cafeteria carrying her tray with a fake confidence that could kill a man until she find an empty table by the time everyone else who had lunch at this time sat down. 

And she did just that. 

As she wove her way through the tables, she realized that most of the students here were upperclassmen, due to the fact that the majority had two striped on their uniform rather than one. A name instantly popped in her mind, and she subconsciously began to look around at actual faces. 

She wondered if Keith would even want her to sit at his table. Did he sit with someone? Did he have a group of friends? Did he sit alone? Does he even take enough classes to be at school long enough to have a lunch block? 

Katie must have been thinking about the student so hard that he must have suddenly teleported at the table directly in front of her vision at a whim. She would have sworn he wasn't there four seconds ago. 

And, just as she suspected he would be, Keith was alone, hunched over and glaring at his tablet. Given that the five minute passing was almost over, she doubted that anyone would be joining him. 

Well, except her. Katie channeled her inner Lance and began to make her way over to the four-chaired table currently only occupied by one person, and sat directly across from said occupant with the confidence of an employer sitting down in front of a person in a job interview. 

Suddenly, her inner Lance was quickly swallowed by her inner Matthew Holt. 

"Fancy meeting you here, my good sir." She grinned when she saw Keith immediately understand the reference and roll his eyes. "Commanding... student in good looks. What brings you here today?" 

"Uh... I'm eating chicken nuggets. That's what."

"Splendid, just splendid!" The younger student giggled and started twirling her ponytail. "Okay, I'll stop roleplaying my brother now. I didn't know we had the same lunch schedule." 

"You didn't know who I was until last Saturday." 

(Untrue, she mentally checked. She has known about him since the first week of school.) 

"Dude. I'm just trying to, y'know, make casual conversation here." 

"Casual conversation? Didn't you introduce yourself by asking my opinion on peanut-based products, or whatever," the boy deadpanned, finally setting down his tablet. He didn't even lock the screen, letting the world see whatever was opened. What a heathen. 

Okay, so his current impression of her is that she was a massively socially awkward freshman that only started conversation by asking about things related to the food industry. Great. Also, he was nearly impossible to talk to now. 

Before she could say anything else, their somewhat tense and awkward interaction was interrupted by an unfortunately familiar voice. 

"Betrayal. True betrayal." 

The two turned to face the voice coming from the end of their table. At the end stood a certain cargo pilot, clad in the upperclassmen's student uniform bearing to stripes on the shoulders. The only words that could describe the Cuban boy's expression was incredulous. 

Katie will never be sure whether this interruption was a divine blessing or the devil mocking her. 

"What?" 

"Lance, what the hell are you doing here? Don't you have a different lunch schedule?" Katie asked, electing to ignore Lance's original statement.

The other boy scoffed theatrically. "That doesn't matter right now! What the hell are YOU doing here?" 

"Eating lunch?! You know my schedu-" 

"No not you. Him!" Her friend dramatically pointed a finger at the other person at the table, staring at the two with an annoyed confusion. 

"I'm... eating lunch." 

"What are you doing here... together?!" Lance's tone grew accusing, gaze sweeping between the two students. Katie decided not to dwell too much on his poor choice of words. 

"Who are you?" 

"What do you mean, who am I?" Lance nearly shouted. 

"Lance, what's your deal." Katie was unsure why her friend was behaving like this, she has never seen him react this strongly at the idea of his friends talking to other people. He was the kind of person to immediately become pals with his friend's friends, if anything. 

"Oh, wait, I know you." Keith only seemed to remember the boy after hearing his name. She guessed they used to be in a class together. 

"I can't believe I was betrayed by someone in my own clique." Lance shook his head in disappointment, a habit he likely picked up from Hunk. 

"Betrayed...?" 

"Who the hell uses the word clique anymore?" Oh no, Keith had better not instantly get on Lance's bad side. This was beginning to look like a recipe for disaster. 

"Oh my god, stop! Stop. Everyone please shut up!" Katie slammed one her hands on the table, and looked accusingly at her friend. "Lance! First of all, why are you here? Second of all, what's your deal?" 

"My deal is, Katherine, is that you are engaging in a polite and friendly conversation with..." The student dramatically pointed at Keith once again. "Him." 

"What's wrong with that? We're friends!" Keith blinked at that particular outburst. She might regret saying that later, but anything goes to get Lance off her back. 

"Because this Garrison student you are speaking to, right now, is my arch rival!" Oh god, his voice was beginning to pitch. He was serious, if even neither of them would take him seriously. 

"I don't... have any 'rivals'?" Keith tipped his head to the side and then muttered under his breath something that sounded like included the name James. 

"Ugh. I don't have time for this... petty nonsense. I..." Lance slapped his hand over his chest, "have an extremely important schedule change to make. I will tell you of my great and wonderful promotion tomorrow morning, my traitorous friend." 

As he began to walk out the cafeteria towards the front of the school sector of the Garrison, Lance turned back and shouted back something directed towards Keith.

"Better get used to this face now, mullet! You're gonna be seeing it a lot!" 

No clue what that means. She won't try to evaluate it. Keith's face contorted in confusion and ran his hand through his hair. "Mullet...?" 

"'Petty nonsense'. Oh my god. I'm definitely gonna tear him down for that later." Katie muttered as she looked down at her food tray and began opening the half pint carton of milk. 

"You know him?" Keith looked back over at her again, eyebrow raised in confusion. 

"Unfortunately... his name is Lance, we ended up being grouped together in the cargo pilot sector with me being the technician. It was totally unwilling." Katie rolled her eyes, thinking back to the day she first met the older student. It involved a lot of height comparisons and apologies by Hunk. "I don't know what his deal with you is, though, I've never seen him act like this before." 

"Huh." Thankfully, her unofficial official new friend was fullly willing to drop... whatever just happened. 

"Oh, by the way. I meant to ask you last time, wanna exchange phone numbers?" 

He blinked. "Um... aren't you a freshman? You're a little y-"

"No! Wait! Not like that! I mean, like, as friends!" Katie immediately sputtered out in response. She realized that this is probably not the first time he's been offered a number for non-platonic reasons given his academy-wide popularity. "I mean, we both have family going on Kerberos too. I thought maybe- maybe it'd be nice to keep up outside of the cold cafeteria. This cafeteria is cold as shit and it freezes up my brain and like. Messes with my brain it's so cold." 

"Yea, seriously. Here you go." He had already pulled up his contact info while she was rambling. 

Katie quickly typed in the number. Success. She can officially say she has five alive contacts on her tablet now and one non-family member. 

"That'll be nice." The older student slid his phone back to his end of the table, finally locking the screen. Her shoulders released a tension she didn't realize was there. 

"What will?" 

"I mean, having someone to talk to. Also related to, uh, Kerberos." Keith's gaze flickered away and then added on, "I usually just talk to Shiro." 

The younger student wasn't sure whether he meant talking about Kerberos related things, or talking to people in general. She hoped it wasn't the latter, but knew that had to have been what he meant. 

The rest of the lunch period was spent with relative silence, though it was a good sort of quiet. If anything, she was glad she didn't end up running her mouth like she did at the beginning. 

Looking up at the time, the girl startled when she saw that it was already a minute in the passing period. "See you later! My class is far away, so. See ya!" She grabbed her bag and quickly walked towards the exit. 

For the first time since their meeting, he smiled at her while waving back. Katie made a mental note to message him this evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate chapter title: author laments their experiences in high school and projects so heavily on both Pidge and Keith it's painful


	4. Too Late to Turn Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge chats with Colleen, learns something about Lance, and has a nice dinner of microwaved chicken nuggets.

Later in the evening, late enough that it probably wasn't even considered evening anymore, Katie ended up at her desk working on her painfully easy algebra review. It was so easy that she didn't even want to do it in the first place but quickly reminded herself that Professor Dos Santos took no prisoners in regards to the daily homework sheets. 

She had already sent a message to her unofficial official new friend, and the exchange went as such: 

7:42 PM pidgeot sent:  
Hi Keith! This is Katie. I hope you don't mind me contacting you through this app instead of direct SMS, I use it more anyways. I had a good time talking to you at lunch today! 

8:21 PM Keith Kogane sent:  
sup 

And that was that. Katie was so taken aback at the sheer confidence exuded in that one syllable reply that she was stunned out of saying anything back. People who have the ability to type monosyllabic texts without having an anxiety-induced breakdown shouldn't have to face her double text paragraphing habits, anyway. 

Katie stared at a problem she was stuck on, chewing on the end of her mechanical pencil that currently had no eraser. It wasn't necessarily a difficult problem, she had just happened to zone out at the wrong time to the monotonous voice of the professor. 

If Katie weren't so determined to complete every math course the Garrison offered she would have dropped the course the instant she laid eyes on the teacher. It was only October in her freshman year and she's already close to a high school induced mental breakdown. She faintly wished Matt weren't so busy all the time. 

A knock on the door startled her out of her stupor, and she turned back as her mom barged into her room. Not the 'you're in horrible trouble' barging, more of the 'I want you to be aware of my presence because I am your mother' type. 

"Katie, what are you doing? It's past ten." She called over from the doorway. 

"Algebra." 

"You shouldn't be doing homework this late. You've had all evening to work on it and it's past bedtime." Her mom walked over to sit on her bed near her desk, eyeing her homework with poorly concealed suspicion. As if she could hack into things with pencil and paper. 

"Ten is early! It's fine. I only have three problems left, anyways." To prove her point, Katie lifted up the worksheet. 

She was given a look, but no other lecturing words were said. A gentle silence washed over them as Katie figured out the unyielding problem through trial and error. 

"Are you worried about them?" The question cut through the quiet. 

A bubble of annoyance rose from the distraction but she pushed it down, it was a serious question and her mom would want a serious answer. 

"I mean... I guess. Who wouldn't be?" Katie shrugged. "They're gonna be in space for almost a year. But I know they'll be fine, knowing who's piloting them." 

"I'm glad you feel that way. You're right, Shiro is very talented." 

Katie gazed out the window for a few moments before looking back at her mother, who was looking down her slipper-clad feet. 

"Are you?" Her mom hummed in confusion, so Katie clarified, "Are you worried?" 

"Very." She answered without missing a beat. 

"Why?" 

"I don't know... I can't explain it. Maybe it's just the mother and wife side of me talking," she sighed, "I just have the feeling not everything will go as great as everyone thinks it will be." 

_Huh?_

A strange feeling coiled through her body, something that made her want to react in anger. Defend the crew. The idea of them failing or something going wrong had never even _occurred_ to Katie. 

The same feeling also whispered that her mother was right, they shouldn't get too comfortable. The two conflicting thoughts made her fiddle with the pencil littered in bite marks. 

She didn't respond. 

"I can tell by the look on your face that you don't agree with me. I don't agree with myself, honestly," Katie blinked in surprise at that, "I'm sorry for spilling this on you, sweetie. You're very smart, and I know I should trust my own family more." 

Katie hummed in acknowledgment but didn't respond. The feeling continued to coil in her chest as she processed the words, not quite looking at the worksheet she was staring at. 

Her mother stood up to leave, gazing at her daughter for a few moments before quietly shuffling out of the room. "Finish your work quickly. Goodnight, sweetie." 

"...goodnight, Mom." 

˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁺˳✧༚˳

Two days passed since their conversation, still stuck to the back of her mind as she mindlessly floated from class to class. Today was no exception as she wandered towards her first period class which she shared with Lance and Hunk, she wouldn't lie and say they weren't the highlight of her mornings. Their combined personalities made the blow-off class they shared much more interesting. 

Speaking of Lance and Hunk, the smaller of the two had somehow draped his entire body over his small desk. Katie couldn't see Hunk's facial expression, so she could only imagine what was going on. 

"Uh... good morning?" She hesitantly greeted once she neared their unassigned-assigned seats. 

"Ughhhh..." Lance slowly looked up, before letting his head smack down on the desk again. "Ugh." 

"What's so 'ugh'? Did you get rejected again?" Katie lazily dropped her bags on the floor as she took her seat behind the two. Hunk gave her a quick smile before turning back to pat Lance on the back, a concerned frown pulling down his features. 

Lance turned back towards her and wow, he looked terrible. He looked like someone who cried to the point of dehydration, which was probably exactly what happened, only exacerbated by the unkept hair. However, what made it decidedly not a rejected was the untreated eye bags, rejections usually came alongside an overly intensive facial routine and concealer. 

"I got rejected..." Lance let himself flop backwards on the chair before rolling forward onto the desk again. "...by life." 

Katie rolled her eyes at the drama before turning to Hunk, who was currently mouthing something incomprehensible at her direction. She leaned forward so he would be able to whisper. 

"It's bad. Like genuinely really bad." Hunk glanced over at Lance before continuing. "His application to the fighter pilot program got rejected due to overflow, and he's gonna have to wait until he graduates to even be considered getting into the program. There's also a chance he may not be able to get the scholarship he needs to afford it." 

To say her face fell would be an understatement. That's bad. Like genuinely really bad. 

She looked over at the miserable mound of student that was Lance Serrano, her stomach twisting into a multitude of knots Katie knows she'll feel every time every time she looks at him from now on. While she pretended to be annoyed by him, this was the first person in the Garrison to consider a friend. 

Lance had pulled Katie- nerdy, introverted, freshman Katie- into his friend group without a second thought. After years of bullying and exclusion she had been solely convinced the Garrison would be no different. He had proven her wrong not even a week into school with harmless teasing and exuberant invitations to sit with him and the more polite Hunk. 

She's only known him for two months now, but thought of Lance having to leave the Garrison due to unfair circumstances made her more upset than she could express. He talked about the fighter pilot program at every turn and his years of hard work are going to turn up into dust. 

"I... I'm sorry, Lance." Any comforting words died before they reached her lips, less out of lack of sympathy and more out of being at a true loss for words. 

For once, Katie didn't sigh or quip back at Lance's theatrical breakdown. The weight of his situation only contributed to her rising fears of Kerberos hung at her shoulders for the rest of the school day. 

˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁺˳✧༚˳

"She lives!" 

Matt shouted up at her as she trudged down the stairs to the dining room. Katie stuck her tongue out at him in replacement of her usual middle finger with the nearby watchful eye of Mom. 

"I should be saying that to you, jerk." She slumped down into her usual chair next to her brother. 

"Wow, language. We can't afford to have any _bad kids_ in the house." 

"Bad kids? I'll show you a bad kid." She grabbed a fork and began mercilessly stabbing Matt in the arm, who childishly screamed at the onslaught. 

Their mom walked in from the kitchen as Katie continued poking him, smiling at the siblings' antics as she set down a plate stacked high with off-brand microwaved chicken nuggets and... wow, are those chicken _tenders_ mixed in the pile? They're eating high class tonight. 

Normally, their dad was the main chef of the house, but the impending Kerberos missions drove him away from the dinner table to his office. She knew it should be sad with his absence, but Katie honestly loves the microwaved meals Mom serves up. 

"So... how was school today?" 

It took a second for Katie to realize the question was for her before looking up at her mom. 

"It was fine, I guess. Boring as ever." She plucked a few more chicken nuggets before starting her feast. "Oh, yea, Lance got rejected from the fighter pilot program." 

Matt cringed. "Ouch. I mean, I'm not surprised considering how picky the pilot instructors are. But that still sucks." 

"Yea, it's especially bad because he's gonna be complaining tenfold. Being a fighter pilot was like, his main goal." 

"That sounds awful," their mother piped up, "but I'm not too surprised either. Iverson's ego flew through the roof with Shiro, and the standards for joining the program have gotten crazy difficult." 

"Yea, seriously!" Matt said. "You should ask Keith about it, also known as your new buddy, wink-wink. He's in the fighter pilot program and allegedly complains about it all the time." 

Katie acknowledged him with a grunt, mouth too full to properly respond. A casual silence fell over them as they continued to eat, with the exception of a mild protest when her mom shoved salad onto her plate. 

As they wrapped up their meal, they all turned in surprise to hear footsteps down the stairs. 

"Dad!" Katie exclaimed as he marched in, large grins mirrored on their faces as he took a seat at the table. 

"Well, what do we have here?" He stretched his arms above his head before looking at the leftover assortment of microwaveable meals. "Chicken nuggets again, huh? You're spoiling them, Colleen." 

She chuckled good-naturedly. "More like I'm spoiling myself." 

"Wait!" Matt's head shot up from his third serving of food. "Isn't Shiro calling in like... five minutes?" 

"Yep! That doesn't mean I'm not gonna swipe some goods, though." Her dad picked up the entire leftover plate and placed it over his empty one. 

"Can Katie join in? At least in the beginning?" He leaned over and nudged her with his elbow before whispering in her ear, "if he says yes, you can't run or hide." 

_Asshole_. How does he know how much anxiety she has over talking to Shiro? 

"Of course!" Oh no. "I'm happy you took her to meet him, by the way. It's good to know our respective families know each other now." 

"It was my pleasure!" Matt saluted in usual Matt style. 

A nervous buzz coursed through her as she continuously glanced at her dad's phone, ready for it to ring at any time. Katie felt like she was going to explode in anticipation when her mother leaned over. 

"Don't be too worried." She assured softly. "I know you know Shiro is very kind. You should try seeing him as one of our coworkers rather than a celebrity." 

Miraculously, her mom's assurances got through to the unyielding knots in her stomach. She always knew the magic words. 

Her dad and Matt were bantering about Kerberos jargon she only partially understood as the phone began to ring, and she began to wipe her hands on her pants as the characteristic sweat began. Thankfully, there would be no hand shaking this time around, but she prayed she didn't have a visible glow or even- god forbid- beads of sweat dripping down her face. 

Her dad picked up the phone, looking at the contact info. "Well, if it isn't the man of the hour!" 

Shuffling over to be in the camera view, Katie steeled herself as her dad clicked the button and Shiro's face popped up onto the screen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OHHHH my god . Oh my god. I updated it. I UPDATED IT 
> 
> Cliffhanger solely because goddammit I just wanted to get a chapter up already. Did you know that when I first outlined this story, I didn't even have a basic timeline? January me was wild


	5. All-Nighters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Holt family FaceTimes the gijinkas of Thing 1 and Thing 2.

It wasn't necessarily that Shiro was scary; Shiro was the opposite of scary, if she's being honest, and definitely gives the vibes of someone who would save a wriggling earthworm from the burning sidewalk. The kind of guy whose voice would go up three octaves upon seeing a street cat. 

So no, Shiro was not necessarily 'scary' in the general sense, but Katie wasn't necessarily scared either. If sweating through your clothes and nearly vomiting from anxiety doesn't count as 'scared'. This was the usual reaction to the thought of social interaction outside of her brother and parents, though, so it wasn't that big of a deal. 

The screen flickered on to show Shiro's mildly confused face before he broke into a wide grin and a short wave. It looked as if he was calling from his computer set on a coffee table, since no human being could hold a phone that still. No human being could also hold a phone with both of your hands rested on your legs, either. 

A faint voice could be heard from the other end, and Shiro gestured as to say 'one moment' before muting the call, turning and yelling something towards the direction of the voice's origin. Her parents and Matt glanced a knowing amused look at each other. Katie wondered what that was all about. 

Shiro turned back on the sound with an exasperated expression. "Sorry about that. Keith is determined to steal the leftover cookies that I marked as mine." 

Matt barked out a laugh, and Katie couldn't help but let out a giggle, the knot loosening slightly at the domesticity. 

Her dad chuckled as well. "Keith's with you? That's a surprise, I thought he only stayed on the weekends." 

"Yea, usually. Things have been crazy lately." Shiro looked uncertain and glanced up slightly before lowering his voice. "I can't say he's a fan of Kerberos. We're just having some more family time before I leave for a few months, I guess." 

Katie suddenly felt horribly awkward, like she was listening into a private conversation about a family she didn't know. Because that's exactly what was happening. Her mom let out a small sigh, looking pointedly over to her slightly awkward-looking dad and even more awkward Matt, two people who clearly didn't understand the concept of 'let's spend time together as family before you all leave for many months'. 

Before the conversation could get any more downhill, Katie spoke up despite her knotted stomach screaming not to. "I... I've been hanging out with Keith lately! I found out we have the same lunch period." 

"Really?" Shiro perked up at that, bright smile returning to his face. "That's good to hear!" 

"Yea, um..." Now under the spotlight, Katie struggled to continue. "I think we line up- our lunches line up- because all the fighter pilots have the third lunch period with engineers and the tech nerds like me. Which is weird, because one of my friends is an engineer but he has second period lunch, but that's not the point." 

She cut herself off in a rush as she realized she was rambling, but Shiro still had that same kind smile on his face as he nodded along. 

"Your engineer friend must be working in the cargo division, then, I have some students who have second lunch." Shiro said, and Katie nodded. "Are you working with the fighter pilot program in technology and navigation?" 

"Uh, well, no. I was supposed to, which would've been really cool, but the required computer science class didn't fit anywhere else in my schedule." There was a lot more to that story, like the straight week of battling with schedule coordinators and yelling at counselors, but that's a story to tell later. Shiro didn't need to know about her general disrespect of authority, being an authoritative figure. 

"That's really a shame, the fighter pilot program needs some younger faces. Maybe next year, then." His tone sounded with a genuine sympathy that made Katie smile and nod in return. 

"Seriously, we were piiissed off." Matt cut in and Katie jumped; she had almost forgotten her family there with her. "Isn't nearly everyone in the fighter program graduating? It's gonna be a class filled with underclassmen next year!" 

"Seriously!" Shiro's voice was nearly petulant now, tone changing in response to talking to someone closer in age. "It's extremely irritating that they're requiring so many unnecessary classes and prioritize them over the actual programs, so the students that actually get in hardly have the time to learn the material they're supposed to learn." 

"I've noticed that as well." Her dad agreed. "Iverson's a great guy, but he's definitely got his own agenda with the program. Unfortunately, it's not my division, or I definitely would've stepped in." 

Shiro hummed, lips tightened in frustration. "I know they rejected another kid from the program the other day. It's almost like they've turned the pilot programs into a hierarchy when all of them take different skill sets, and pilots should learn as many as possible. Even Keith has taken some cargo pilot classes, they really need to get their act together with organizing the pilot program." 

"I heard the fighter class is overflowed, but I know that's a real load of horse shit." Her dad said eloquently. "I'm pretty sure they shrunk the class size, actually." 

Shiro let out a heavy sigh. 

Throughout this whole conversation, Katie was staring with comically wide eyes as she absorbed all of this behind-the-scenes information about the Garrison, making sure she was off the camera feed so she could react in full. She should've joined these calls earlier, it had completely slipped her mind that Shiro was also a teacher that knew all of the spicy Garrison drama. 

Katie happened to catch Matt's eye, who had nearly an identical facial expression, and they both waved their arms with vague confusion and mild horror in a silent conversation. 

"Fighter pilot program is overrated!" The distant voice- which she knew now was Keith- was back again, but much more clear this time. "It's boring and Iverson sucks!" 

Matt laughed loudly as Shiro slightly rolled his eyes. Leaning forward into the camera feed, Matt yelled back. "Well if you hate it that much, how about you tell us why? Get in the conversation!" 

Silence. 

Shiro was looking away at an angle with an expectant look on his face, before widening his eyes in the expectant parental look that screamed 'if you don't do this, there will be consequences'. It was hilarious to see the expression on someone that wasn't Mom, and even more hilarious to see it on the face of a highly-esteemed celebrity. 

An audible huff was heard from the other end, and Katie watched the blur of movement as Keith dropped back onto the couch. From what she could see of his face in the feed, he looked about at ease as the knot in her stomach. He wasn't entirely visible in the camera, but it was at least enough to get participation points. 

"The program's boring and Iverson sucks. I don't have anything else to say." Keith said curtly. Katie was quickly learning that he was a boy of very few words. 

Still, seeing him loosened the knot a bit more. She jumped into the camera again. "Hi, Keith!" 

He blinked in mild surprise. "Oh. Hey." 

Keith really didn't look like he was in the mood for conversation, so she sat back into her off-screen chair again. Matt, however, wasn't undeterred. 

"So..." Matt adjusted his glasses dramatically in a way only an anime viewer would. "Just what about Iverson do you find to be... disagreeable, Mr. Kogane?" 

Keith's eyes weren't visible at the moment, but they could all imagine the exaggerated eye roll. Katie wonders if it was a learned habit from Shiro or, even better, the other way around. 

"He yells at us for stupid stuff." Well, that was a very detailed and not-at-all vague answer. Katie snorted at his nonchalant tone. 

Shiro raised his eyebrows and gave Keith the look again before turning back to the feed. "I believe he's trying to say that Iverson likes to find problems with students just for the excuse to yell at people." 

"Yea, that." Keith said flatly. Well, nice to know he had a translator. 

Matt seemed bored already, not getting whatever reaction or scenario he had previously envisioned. It looked like his and Keith's personalities just didn't click, considering they didn't exactly talk during their failed introduction, and Katie suddenly imagined a worst-case scenario where Keith and Lance were in the same room at the same time. 

"So, Shiro, have you been working on the coordinate adjustments?" 

And there it was. Shiro's face steeled into one of business. Keith left the couch as quickly as he came and her mom quickly excused herself to clean up the dishes. Matt and her dad launched into a deep discussion about the current Kerberos simulator. 

Katie went back up to her room and opened her laptop, new questions spiraling through her mind. 

˳✧༚˚✧₊⁎⁺˳✧༚˳

A few hours later, after Mom had walked in to wish her goodnight, Katie shut her laptop again with a snap, growling in frustration. 

Matt was right. The fighter pilot program had not only shrunk in size from the last school year, but around eighteen of the current students were graduating this year, meaning they would have eighteen new students and only one staying for one more year. That sounded like a disaster in the making; what was Iverson trying to do, start the program from scratch? Who was monitoring this, and why did Lance get rejected from the program when he met all of the requirements? 

Looking at the acceptance requirements given to pilot instructors and teachers, they were so much simpler and easy to pass than what she had been hearing about the fighter pilot program. The entire pilot program had the same requirements for each as to not create a hierarchy; clearly, that didn't end up working out now that Iverson was on his way to fully creating a program of "elites". 

If Katie didn't know better, she would have gone in to add Lance's name to the roster next year. Unfortunately, as good as her hacking skills were and her ability to pass the Garrison's firewall was increasing every day, the class was nineteen students and considered the most elite program. There was no way it would work without being spotted. 

Katie didn't even know what was so special about fighter planes. Being able to fly cargo and resources well and skillfully was equally as important in the event of a war or other catastrophe. 

Even more infuriating was finding the rejection forms and letters that were in the database. Reading Lance's was difficult, and she had to stop three times to get herself together. Hunk was right, he didn't have enough scholarship money to continue on in the Galaxy Garrison, as she checked in the more easily accessed scholarships database. The letter was so flippant, as if someone like Lance shouldn't have even bothered applying. It was angering and completely, utterly hopeless. 

But she can't tell him that. After all, she could get arrested for reading what she saw. Committing treason was a secret hobby of hers. 

Katie reached over to her phone. She still had some more questions that couldn't be answered through any sort of database. 

11:46 PM pidgeot sent:   
Hey are you awake??   
Sorry if I woke you up btw 

Katie closed out of the messaging app, knowing she probably won't get an instant reply. If she got a reply, anyways. 

Eleven minutes into one of those godawful three hour vine compilations, she got a response, so she woke up from her YouTube-induced trance and opened the app again. 

11:57 PM Keith Kogane sent:   
yea   
you didnnt 

Katie raised an eyebrow at the spelling, but she continued. Her quest for good grammar that was hated by all around her would have to be put off for a day in her search for answers. 

11:58 PM pidgeot sent:   
Okay good!! 

11:58 PM Keith Kogane sent:   
that call was a idsatsr lmao   
dissaster

Oh, no. Keith was one of those people. You know, the kind of people that can't spell to save their lives and nobody has any idea how they fail so badly at it. 

She bit back a mental response that the only reason the call was a disaster was because of his own behavior, that she and her family had been chatting completely fine with Shiro. But who was she to talk, Katie certainly isn't Master Socializer. Also she didn't want to completely destroy a potential friendship. 

11:59 PM pidgeot sent:   
Yea, it really was..   
I was messaging you to talk about it, actually 

11:59 PM Keith Kogane sent:   
oh 

12:00 AM pidgeot sent:   
I think you heard us talking about the fighter pilot program, but I don't know if you actually heard the whole conversation? sooo  
I found out that most of the pilots this year are graduating, like you are, and I was wondering if you knew anything about that   
One of my friends was rejected and he's becoming a senior next year, and I was rejected this year because they're shrinking the class   
So I hope this isn't weird or anything or I'm offending you or something. I know you don't like the program so I was just wondering what you thought about that? 

12:01 AM Keith Kogane sent:   
i cant turn down an excuce to rant abiyt the fighter pilot program   
about 

12:02 AM pidgeot sent:   
Rant away! Lol   
I have nothing but pure condensed rage towards the pilot program so no boundaries necessary 

12:02 AM Keith Kogane sent:   
neat   
ok so the whole graudating thing right? iverson is complettely redoing his program n we think its without higher approval 

Katie's eyebrows raised so high they almost shot off of her head. That was a whole suitcase to unpack by itself, but she waited for him to continue. 

12:02 AM Keith Kogane sent:   
he ignored freshman applicabts because he wants to wait till we graduate. lots of juniors r getting rejected bc of this   
so that explains u and your friend   
was it that lance guy 

The sound of her stomach dropping echoed through her head. Either Keith already knows Lance, he spied on them, or he's just very intuitive that way. Well, she made it this far, so she might as well not lie about it. 

12:03 AM pidgeot sent:   
Yea......   
Please don't tell him I told you, though   
He's really upset about it because he doesn't have enough scholarships to stay here past graduation 

12:04 AM Keith Kogane sent:   
thats rough   
and i wont  
because i dont know him   
i figursd though. i saw he had upperclasmen stripes   
easy to connect the dots 

Well, not that easy, especially if you don't know who they are. Katie probably wouldn't have been able to figure out that puzzle of a connection. 

12:06 AM pidgeot sent:   
Well thanks for telling me, that answers a lot of my questions haha  
We should go to bed, anyways 

12:06 AM Keith Kogane sent:   
who the hell sleep 

The sentence was already funny by itself, but the typo made it gold. Katie muffled her laughter in her blanket to avoid waking up her brother next door. 

12:07 AM pidgeot sent:   
LOL true   
But still, I'm actually really tired so goodnight  
Are you gonna be at lunch tomorrow? 

12:07 AM Keith Kogane sent:   
yea u will  
**i will   
goodnight 

The idea that Katie was going to fall asleep after this dumpster truck of information was poured into her brain was, quite frankly, the funniest idea she had ever heard. Plugging in her phone and setting it on the nightstand, she pulled out her laptop again and began scouring the Garrison's database for the second time that night, staring at the glaring screen of her computer until the late hours of the morning.


End file.
